How to feed frozen food?

[IslandLifeReef]

Ok, thanks!

Are mysis cubes relatively inexpensive?

I actually don’t have any yet. I plan to pick some up today. ;Facepalm

The best thing you can do is feed a variety of frozen food, not just mysis. Try mixing in reef frenzy or ocean plankton.

 

[James_O]

The best thing you can do is feed a variety of frozen food, not just mysis. Try mixing in reef frenzy or ocean plankton.

I do like feeding my fish a variety of high quality food, so I will look into those suggestions.

—-

Probably start feeding the clowns tomorrow? (I just got them today)

 

[Trouble1375]

You can always use a defroster from Innovative Marine. It can be used for frozen food and pellets so that they don't go everywhere in you aquarium before your fish can eat them https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/aquarium-supplies/gourmet-defroster-pro/

love the dethawer - have ours set-up so the return pump jet circles to cubes in it - usually 2 cubes about an hour after lights on, 1 when I get done with work and 2 more an hour before lights out plus 3 3"x1" strips of Nori in the algae feeder and that doesn't count the coral foods that get varied during the week but we are heavily stocked in our 125 plus about 60 frags and mini colonies

Starry Blenny
Blue Legged Hermit Crab
Knobby Brittlestar
Misbar Black Occellaris
Banghai Cardinal
Black Sailfin Blenny
Wyoming White Clown
Male Melanurus Wrasse
Wide Barred Shrimp Goby
Japanese Swallowtail Angel
Cube Boxfish
Sailfin Tang
Money Cowrie
Cleaner Wrasse
Firefish
Six Line Wrasse
Female Melanurus Wrasse
Red Linicka Starfish
Striped Dottyback
Royal Gramma
Watermelon Goby
Bicolor Goatfish
Citron Goby

3 Rock Boring Urchins
Various Snails as CUC

2 Peppermint Shrimp in Sump - too many wrasses to keep shrimp in DT
10 Red Leg Hermit Crabs in Sump - cleaning up leftovers

 

[highest_tides]

I melt two weeks worth at once to wash in rodi and strain. Then separate into ice cube trays for the amount of days and top off with rodi. When it comes time to feed I just throw the cube in. I feed heavy.

 

[Ponto633]

you can use one of the plastic hole nets that attach to the aquarium glass. you can put the cubes inside so the fish can pick at it without wasting it.

 

[zukihara]

Yes, fill a shot glass with Pappy then down it. Then fill with RO water and some frozen goodies and dump in tank. Rinse then fill again with Pappy and drink.

Do not use a

 

[James_O]

I just fed some mysis to my clowns!

I cut off way to much off the cube. I did waste a lot of shrimp, but it was my first time using frozen food. I’ll know for next time!

I cut off a chunk and let it sit in a glass (with tank water) for a little while.

They loved it!

 

[BTimms]

Look for LRS reef frenzy nano, it's perfect for this application. Only break off what you need, drop it in a plastic cup, add a little tank water, wait a few minutes and feed. There's no need to rinse like mysis or other cubed based foods. Pick up a cheap turkey baster from the dollar store and make your life easier. LRS is perfect for feeding several times a day (small amounts each time).

What is the coral in your avatar?

 

[minus9]

What is the coral in your avatar?

Pink M. setosa

 

[Brit’s Fish]

I just fed some mysis to my clowns!

I cut off way to much off the cube. I did waste a lot of shrimp, but it was my first time using frozen food. I’ll know for next time!

I cut off a chunk and let it sit in a glass (with tank water) for a little while.

They loved it!

That’s great to hear! I usually try to feed my new additions pretty early on after adding them to my tanks - just to try to get them comfortable & make sure I’ve seen them eat.
Lots of good feeding suggestions here too - I also use several different foods & switch them up. LRS nano frenzy is a great choice for your fish - mixed high quality seafood. New Life Spectrum pellets are great too. Clowns will eat basically anything you throw in there... they aren’t picky.
I must be weird because I don’t always thaw frozen food in a glass, but I also have 4 tanks to feed. I just take a cube or break a chunk off the LRS food and hold it at the top of the water, helping it to thaw and break it up with my fingers. Several of my fish will just eat from my hand at this point too.

 

[Kynzo]

I just fed some mysis to my clowns!

I cut off way to much off the cube. I did waste a lot of shrimp, but it was my first time using frozen food. I’ll know for next time!

I cut off a chunk and let it sit in a glass (with tank water) for a little while.

They loved it!

I cut the cube into smaller pieces with a knife as quick as I can. Thaw what I need and throw the rest back into a plastic bag in the freezer. I have a smaller tank too and a whole cube would pollute my tank. I switched to lrs reef frenzy and it doesn't thaw and dissolve as quickly which is nice. Definitely worth a try if you can find it local. Really nice ingredients.

 

[MaxTremors]

If I’m feeding just a couple small fish, I cut the foil around the cube on three sides so that it’s kind of a flap, and then take a knife and just cut out a little piece of the cube (still in the tray) and then fold the flap back down, slide the cardboard cover over it (if it has one), and then put it in a ziplock in the freezer. I then thaw the little bit that I took out in a little cup with tank water and as soon as it thaws, I pour it in the tank (or when spot feeding corals, I suck it up into my feeding pipette). I think it’s pointless to rinse frozen food, if anything it helps feed the filter feeders, corals, and CuC.

 

[James_O]

I’m using the Hikari stuff, but I’ll look into the reef frenzy.

 

[Viva'sReef]

Yes, fill a shot glass with Pappy then down it. Then fill with RO water and some frozen goodies and dump in tank. Rinse then fill again with Pappy and drink.

Do not use a

Where do we get this endless supply of Pappy?

 

[Bleigh]

I do a combo. I turn off all my pumps and power heads. I use lrs and break small pieces off and put it straight into the tank. It thaws as it floats around and 1 power head comes on a minute after the feed cycle has started, that breaks up the food and the fish go crazy for it.

When I target feed corals, I thaw some in a bowl with tank water and use a baster to target at the corals while the lrs is getting blown around. Some of the fish and shrimp still come to the baster and wait for me to squirt some food out from them, but they tend to leave the corals alone. Sometimes some thievery still happens, but not as badly.

 

[RuuToo]

I tend to avoid overthinking it. Throw a few days worth of frozen food (reef frenzy in my case) into a small glass container with a lid. Feed it whenever I feel like into the tank, store the rest in the fridge.

My nutrients have been super super low of late, so I’m up to feeding about 6 or 8 times a day. Working from home is good, but I have a plank auto feeder on order to automate most of those with freeze dried plankton soon. Will keep a couple of reef frenzy feedings though, since the fish definitely dig it

 

[James_O]

I tend to avoid overthinking it. Throw a few days worth of frozen food (reef frenzy in my case) into a small glass container with a lid. Feed it whenever I feel like into the tank, store the rest in the fridge.

My nutrients have been super super low of late, so I’m up to feeding about 6 or 8 times a day. Working from home is good, but I have a plank auto feeder on order to automate most of those with freeze dried plankton soon. Will keep a couple of reef frenzy feedings though, since the fish definitely dig it

Will it not go bad if it’s not frozen?

 

[RuuToo]

Will it not go bad if it’s not frozen?

I’ve been doing it this way for about 18 years and still have one of my original clownfish. I really never lose fish mysteriously so I’d say it works for me. Just don’t leave it for more than a few days. And refrigerate, obviously. It will go bad in hours if left at room temp.

 

[ca1ore]

LOL, I’m all for not overthinking. Next time I turn off any pump to feed will be the first time. Feed enough that your fish will consume in 15-20 seconds and very little goes down the overflow. Any that does helps to feed the sump/refugium. Can actually help to pour thawed foods directly into the circulation pumps. Food moving elicits a better feeding response in may fish, pseudoanthias notably, and helps distribute the food so the piggies don’t eat it all. Probably not a problem with a couple of clowns, but with a bigger variety of fish it can become an issue. Easy enough to let a frozen pack soften a bit outside the freezer and then dice up the cubes to suit your needs.

 

[uninformed]

Like @RuuToo, I put a week’s worth of LRS into a lab squirt bottle, add Selcon and water (saltwater or RODI, depending on what’s available), let it thaw in the fridge, then just squirt it in at feeding time. Works great and makes it quick so I don’t have to sit and wait for a cube of something to thaw in a glass. Mix in whatever you like, just make sure that it can fit through the tube on the bottle!